A Des Moines engineering company has been hired for Creston’s Central Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation project, through which the city hopes to fix sewer lines on various streets using leftover COVID relief funds.
Veenstra & Kimm, Inc of Des Moines has worked with Creston numerous times in the past, including cleaning sewer lines, building inspections and on the feasibility of keeping the old Girl Scout cabin.
The project’s main focus is Montgomery Street in front of the Elks Lodge between North Division Street and North Oak Street, where 325 feet of new 12″ sanitary sewer will be installed. Depending on bid outcomes, additional construction could be done on North Division Street between West Prairie Street and West Townline Street and West Adams Street between North Sumner Avenue and North Spruce Street.
Creston City Administrator Mike Taylor said the city has $300,000 left in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. These funds must be allocated by Dec. 31, followed by another year before the money must be spent. Now that an engineering firm has been selected, the bidding process will begin.
“We’re going to have a preconstruction meeting on that next week on the eight, I think the bids are due on the 24th and if they can get started, we’ll let them get started this fall,” Taylor said. “We’ve got around $300,000 and that’s got to cover the engineering and the project.”
Once construction starts, Taylor doesn’t picture each street taking more than a month. “I’m going to guess probably down there in front of the Elks, it’s going to be an open and cut project, probably three weeks to a month.”
More information regarding the project will be available following bid selection later this month.